


of tinsel and mistletoe

by elletromil, InsaneRedDragon



Series: bound by little things [3]
Category: Kingsman (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Magic, Christmas, M/M, Merwin + Harry, Mistletoe, Timestamp
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-16
Updated: 2017-12-16
Packaged: 2019-02-15 07:07:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,554
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13025820
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/elletromil/pseuds/elletromil, https://archiveofourown.org/users/InsaneRedDragon/pseuds/InsaneRedDragon
Summary: “Alright Harry, enough. This is terribly unpleasant.”“It’s tradition. How is it that even after all these years you still don’t appreciate my kisses?”"You always make a spectacle of it."--Christmas traditions are important, especially ones shared with family for the first time.





	of tinsel and mistletoe

**Author's Note:**

  * For [hepcatliz](https://archiveofourown.org/users/hepcatliz/gifts).



> It wouldn't be Christmas without a little themed timestamp for this 'verse. Even these boys need some Christmas fluff.

Eggsy is used to strange sights.

For one, he’s a familiar, the only one to his knowledge that can take human form. For two, he’s bound to a workaholic wizard. For three, humans are fucking weird and Harry is like the human-est human to be around and thus, he’s also very, very weird.

Not that it’s a bad thing.

It just explains why when he steps into Harry’s workshop at the estate and finds him dipping Merlin down for a kiss, his only reaction is to laugh at the way Merlin tries to push him away.

Of course, if it wasn’t for the way Merlin’s effort only seems halfhearted at best and how his eyes crinkles happily, he might have helped him out, but Merlin’s clearly having fun. And so is Harry, judging by the chuckling Eggsy can hear between the exaggeratedly loud press of his lips against Merlin’s cheeks and neck.

He’s aware that for the humans, kissing is usually reserved for mates, but Harry has always been a part of their relationship and always will be. They might never be mates in the same sense that he and Merlin are, but they are definitely  _ partners _ and that’s just as important. Means just as much.

He’s still curious as to what prompted this though, but he won’t interrupt them when they are finally having a moment to relax. They both need it.

Merlin attempts to frown even as his eyes twinkle and he pushes at Harry’s shoulders. “Alright Harry, enough. This is terribly unpleasant.”

Harry presses a final wet kiss to the side of his head before standing him up straight and grinning. 

“It’s tradition. How is it that even after all these years you still don’t appreciate my kisses?”

The disgruntled noises that Merlin makes as he straightens his clothes are negated by the way the corners of his mouth threaten to curl up.

It’s happened this way every year since they were kids. 

It started out with all of them -- Ian and Diane, Harry and Merlin -- waiting and watching the clock for the stroke of midnight to announce the first of December. Then they stayed up until the wee hours of the morning decorating the house for Christmas. And in amongst the lights and ornaments, tinsel and garland, they would hang a dozen or more mistletoe.

At first when Merlin would get caught out under the mistletoe, when he was still too young to be embarrassed, Harry would kiss him on the cheek, smile big and bright. As the years passed and they got old enough to understand that most boys their age were disgusted at the thought of kissing their family, it turned into game -- give each other the most ridiculous, over the top, absurd kisses possible.

The year that Merlin realized his feelings, for other boys and for Harry, he stopped playing. Harry had frowned and grumbled when Merlin expertly avoided the mistletoe, and had pouted when he ignored Harry completely while Harry stood underneath looking at him expectantly.

The year after that, Harry insisted he was in charge of the mistletoe, and he spent all his time running around the house hiding it. When Merlin ended up underneath one the very next day, Harry spent minutes covering Merlin’s head with kisses until he’d finally broken down and laughed.

Since then, Merlin will never admit out loud that he always finds an excuse to visit on December first. Or that he forces himself not to search for the mistletoe hidden away so he can be surprised when Harry comes up behind him and makes a show of kissing him.

“You always make a spectacle of it,” he says with a smile. “Besides, it doesn’t help that you can’t be bothered to hang them in the same place every year and I get surprised by your...attack.” Merlin says it teasingly, a familiar banter to start the holiday season.

Harry looks scandalized as he glances up at the mistletoe taped to the bottom of the hanging planter. “The minute I put them in the same spot as the year before you would be sneaking around my house avoiding them. And then I wouldn’t even get to enjoy the one chance each year you let me kiss you.”

Heat floods Merlin’s face and he clears his throat as he turns away, flustered at being caught out so obviously.

It’s then that his eyes land on Eggsy and he smiles embarrassedly, his magic instinctively reaching out towards him, hoping Eggsy can’t sense his tumultuous emotions.

“Hello Eggsy. Come help us. We could use your expertise choosing the fabric for my new suit.”

Eggsy comes over and stands next to Merlin, placing a soothing hand on his arm. Merlin feels the wash of love spread through their connection and lets himself relax again, throwing a wry glance in Harry’s direction.

“What are you two doing in here? I didn’t know that kissing was needed to make a suit.” He looks vaguely betrayed, as if they’ve willingly kept him from something fun.

Merlin sputters and Harry just laughs, a twinkle in his eye. “It’s a Christmas tradition that’s been around since the eighteenth century. Servants would hang mistletoe in their quarters, and the men were then allowed to kiss any woman that was caught underneath. If she were to refuse, bad luck would befall her.”

As Merlin watches, Harry takes a step closer to Eggsy and Merlin can feel Eggsy’s curiosity through the bond at the same time that his eyes widen.

“Our tradition has been similar,” Harry says, “but for all the members of our family, since we were children. Although it got more fun after the year I was forced to hide the mistletoe in order to get Merlin to participate.”

Harry looks up again and Eggsy follows his line of sight to find the mistletoe now hanging above his own head. Merlin’s heart swells at the startled laugh Eggsy lets out as Harry closes the space between them and presses a soft kiss to his cheek.

“I hope we can convince you to keep the tradition with us.”

If the tendrils of affection and amusement that Merlin feels touch him through the connection are anything to go by, then Merlin is certain that there is no convincing needed. He rolls his eyes and huffs out a put upon sigh, but it’s all undermined by the smile that slips onto his face as he attempts to get the two of them focused back on the task at hand.

After Harry’s ambush, Merlin has been careful about where he stood, to Eggsy’s great disappointment. Of course, it’s not like he really needs an excuse to kiss him whenever he wants to, but half the fun is to participate in a silly tradition that doesn’t hurt anyone.

Not that he doubts he’ll get Merlin under the mistletoe before they have to leave the estate later today. Sure they’ll be back for Christmas, but Eggsy doesn’t want to wait that long. Especially since he highly doubts Merlin will put on any mistletoe back home. At least this year.

Eggsy already has plans for the following year and he’s sure Harry will be all too happy to help.

He nearly asked him to lend a hand before they all went to bed the previous evening, but in the end, he decided against it. Eggsy’s got some pride after all and it’s not his grumpy mate that will stand in his way.

Or he will, but because it’s kind of his goal.

So instead of waiting for Merlin to step under the mistletoe of his own volition, he waits until the man is distracted, all his focus on the tea he is preparing for Harry and Eggsy.

He nearly misses his chance, distracted himself by the sight of his mate working his instinctive magic, bathed in the gentle light of the morning.

But Eggsy’s a familiar with a mission and he sneaks behind Merlin while Harry looks at the scene unfolding in front of his eyes with obvious amusement.

It takes a moment before Merlin notices his presence, but he merely leans back against him with a contented sigh. That is, until he realises that Eggsy is holding an arm up and his gaze travels up to what he is holding in his hand.

Merlin groans with annoyance, but obligingly tilts his head backward so that it rests on Eggsy’s shoulder and he can easily kiss him.

Easily, but awkwardly, because the kiss is slightly upside-down. Not that Eggsy minds, not when he can feel Merlin’s lips stretching into a smile into the kiss. He can pretend to be annoyed all he wants, some things betray him.

Some things like the way his magic curls around Eggsy and seems to be lazily stroking him all over with clear affection.

Both Eggsy and Harry’s breaths hitch at that and Eggsy doesn’t need to break the kiss to know Merlin is looking quite smug right now.

But to be honest, it’s hard to mind when he feels so undeniably loved.

_ Why are you all kiss-y? _ Even if she’s just a bird, Daisy looks so utterly puzzled over their behaviour from the last day that Eggsy cannot help laughing for a moment.

Daisy doesn’t seem to mind, even if it doesn’t help clear her confusion, and she waits patiently for him to calm down from her perch on his shoulder. But then again, Daisy has never been bothered by much. Even back when he was still being grumpy and couldn’t trust anyone, she kept coming to hang out with him and he’s forever grateful for her unwavering innocence.

“It’s a silly human tradition for the first month of winter.” He already tried to explain Christmas to her, but he knows it’s still somewhat vague for her. Though he’s pretty sure she’ll remember the date next year when she gets to the pile of blueberries Harry wants to offer her. “Whenever you get underneath the mistletoe with someone you like, you have to kiss them.”

_ Oh! That sounds fun! _ She chirps happily for some time until suddenly her trill ends on a sad note.

“Daisy? What’s the matter?”

_ I can’t kiss! _ She sounds completely devastated and his heart clenches painfully for her distress. She isn’t entirely wrong since she only has a beak and she cannot turn into a human unlike him. But he cannot stand having her unhappy.

“That’s not true! You just kiss differently!”

_ I do? _ She seems unconvinced, but Eggsy nods confidently.

“Yes! It’s when you bury your beak in our hair as if you were about to pick at it to clean us!” Sure she cannot do that to Merlin, but he’s pretty sure she’s mostly thinking of kissing Harry. If the man was a wizard, he’s sure she would be his familiar, the way they are both devoted to each other.

Her chirping is happy again and when they pass underneath a branch of mistletoe, he joins in her joy when she does exactly what he told her to do. It reminds him of lazy summer days of having both Michelle and her picking at his fur after he rolled in the mud, of being with  _ family _ .

To look at Daisy preening with pride at the reaction she's caused, he knows he did the right thing.

The morning air is cold against his cheeks when Harry steps outside to bring his daily offering to the birds of the estate, magical or not. He only has to stand there a moment before the birds start flying his way, chirping and fluffing their feathers as they land and peck at the seeds he’s laid out for them. 

The only one who doesn’t go straight for the food, however, is Daisy. Harry smiles fondly as she circles around his head once and then comes to perch on his shoulder.

“Good morning, Daisy. Merry Christmas to you.”

She chirps and tilts her head to the side as though in question, but Harry just smiles and lifts a finger to pet the feathers along her neck. Eggsy has told him that Daisy still doesn’t quite get the celebration, but he doesn’t think that it matters much. Harry’s always known Daisy is smart and she’ll understand the emotional significance soon enough.

“Ready to see Eggsy and Merlin today?”

The question is greeted with a series of high pitched chirps and Daisy hopping back and forth across his shoulder. 

“I’ll take that as a yes then.” Harry chuckles. “Come now, we can wait inside for them to arrive. Besides, I still have some of those pumpkin seeds left you enjoy so much.”

It’s a familiar routine for them, now that the weather has turned cold, for Harry to take Daisy inside the house for her morning treat. But today instead of just making his way to their usual spot in the kitchen, he heads further into the house.

He hums a tune under his breath as they walk towards the library. Normally Harry would have set up the Christmas tree in the living room as they did every year. The wide open space letting them choose an impressive tree to cut and decorate. But this is the first Christmas they’re sharing with Eggsy, and Merlin and he had quietly agreed that the only place the tree could go was in the library. 

Harry made do with the smaller tree, but he is proud of the way it sparkles in the corner and how the lights spread out and onto the shelves around it instead. The limited space also meant that while some of the presents had made their way under the tree, a great many of the others now resided nestled in amongst the books. It looks  _ magical _ and Harry is looking forward to spending the entire day there with his family.

They are just walking through the doorway when Daisy launches herself from Harry’s shoulder and starts flying in circles underneath the mistletoe hanging from it. Harry stops to look up and smiles as Daisy chirps excitedly.

“I see. Did Eggsy explain to you the tradition of the mistletoe?”

Daisy flies down to land on Harry’s upturned hand and bobs her head. Lifting his hand in front of his face, Harry smiles. “Then you must know that I’m obligated to give you a kiss.”

He moves slowly, in case this is a traditions that she’d rather not participate in. But when she doesn’t fly away, he presses a small kiss to the top of her head. She chirps happily and then Harry lets out a breathless chuckle when she jumps from his hands and into his hair to gently start picking at it.

“Why thank you, Miss Daisy. I do think that is by far one of the nicest kisses I’ve received this Christmas.”

It’s with a full heart that Harry finally walks all the way into the room and over to one of the armchairs. Once he’s sitting, he opens up a small bag of pumpkin seeds from the side table and offers them up to Daisy one by one, who is now burrowed down into his hair. She alternates between eating the seeds and pressing more kisses to his head and Harry can’t wait for Eggsy and Merlin to arrive.


End file.
